When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead (2009)
“A sixth-grader in 1970s New York receives notes from the future — and has to figure out who sent them before it is too late to stop a death.”
At a Glance
Twelve-year-old Miranda lives with her single mom in a New York City apartment in 1978. Strange notes begin appearing — written by someone who knows things that have not happened yet. As Miranda and her friends navigate sixth grade, a fading friendship, and a neighborhood mystery, she slowly realizes the notes are real, the danger is real, and that saving a life will require accepting something impossible about time.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Won the Newbery Medal in 2010. The Newbery is the most prestigious award in American children's literature, and When You Reach Me won it over a strong field. The win was seen as an endorsement of intelligent genre-blending — the novel is simultaneously a realistic middle-grade story, a mystery, and a science fiction novel, and the Newbery committee's choice signaled that these categories could coexist without compromising any of them.
Diction Profile
Informal but precise — a smart child's voice that notices details without performing observation
Low to moderate